The Brazilian parent company of popular flip-flop brand Havaianas has been sold for 3.5 billion reais, or $1.1 billion.

J&F Investments, the controlling shareholder of Havaianas maker Alpargatas SA, has sold its stake in Alpargatas to Brazilian investment firms Cambuhy Investimentos Ltda., Itaúsa (Investimentos Itaú SA) and Brasil Warrant Administração de Bens e Empresas SA, according to a securities filing on Wednesday. The Cambuhy-led group will split J&F Investments’ 86 percent stake in Alpargatas, the filing said.

The trio — owned by prominent Brazilian banking families — will pay 14.25 reais, or $4.25, for each Alpargatas common share and 11.40 reais, or $3.56, for each preferred share.

Meanwhile, the Batista family — which controls J&F Investments and several other major Brazilian companies — is reportedly planning to use the proceeds from the sale of Alpargatas to pay down debts linked to a political-corruption probe in Brazil. The sale comes just 18 months after J&F Investments bought Alpargatas from then-embattled builder Camargo Correa SA.

Wildly popular Havaianas flip-flops are a staple on beaches as well as on the feet of celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston, Gwen Stefani, Kim Kardashian West and Selena Gomez.

In May, the brand opened a retail location in the high-profile Westfield World Trade Center mall in Lower Manhattan and also teamed with entertainment giant Marvel for a special limited-edition capsule of flip-flops for both kids and adults.